Sen. Schumer Opposes Relaxation of TSA Rules

NEW YORK CITY, NY - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to reverse its decision to allow airline passengers to carry small knives, baseball bats, golf clubs and other "potentially weaponizable" equipment onto airplanes.

In a statement released to the media Sunday, Schumer said the TSA should continue to ban knives and other items from airplanes that he says could potentially put passengers, flight crews and aircraft at risk.

"While it's true that pilots are safe, locked behind cockpit doors, these dangerous items still pose a significant hazard to the flight crew, other passengers, and even the integrity of the plane," said Schumer. "These items are dangerous, and have not become less so in the years since they were banned from planes."

Earlier this week the TSA announced that it would be relaxing its ban on some items that had been prohibited in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.

"And with the major security breach at Newark this weekend," said Schumer, "now is not the time for reduced vigilance, or to place additional burdens on TSA agents who should be looking for dangerous items, not wasting time measuring the length of a knife blade."

Undercover TSA Agents were able to smuggle a mock bomb onto a plane at Newark Airport, it was reported earlier this week.